GM’s self-driving technology unit Cruise will launch commercial robotaxi services in Austin, Texas and Phoenix — two hot spots for autonomous vehicle development — “within the next 90 days and before the end of 2022,” Cruise CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt said. Monday,
The services will be small-scale at first, but from the outset the robotaxi service will be driverless, meaning there will be no human safety operator behind the wheel, Vogt said in a speech at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia & Technology conference. The operation will increase next year. Initial trips may be free, with the intention of starting to pay for the service after a while.
“We’re building on our partnership with Walmart in Phoenix, which is a Cruz investor and partner,” said Vogt, referring to the Cruz delivery pilot with the Arizona-based retail giant. “And a few weeks ago, actually a few days ago, we got all the necessary permits for commercial travel and delivery operations in Phoenix. So that business is really going. “
While Cruz has been preparing and driving the streets of Phoenix, the company is coming to Austin with no experience in the city. Cruz does not have infrastructure or operations in Austin and has not mapped the city, Vogt said.
Cruz is betting that his San Francisco-based robotaxi service, which operates in certain areas of the city between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., could quickly expand to new cities.
Cruise’s decision to launch in Phoenix and Austin this year will push the company’s geographic scaling schedule forward by six months, Vogt said, noting that Cruise took just three weeks to get all the permits it needed for the next cities. By contrast, it took 33 months for the company to get all the licenses it needed to do business in California, where Cruz has been operating a commercial robotaxi service since June in San Francisco.
“I think we’ve built a lot of credibility and trust along the way,” Vogt said.
It also places cruises in two cities that already have AV presence. Waymo has operated in the Phoenix suburbs for years and recently expanded into downtown. Argo AI, which is backed by GM rivals Ford and VW Group, is actively testing and has pilots with business partners in Austin.
Cruz said it will increase quickly and aggressively across the country, something Vogt reiterated Monday. The executive also said the Cruze and GM will begin production of the Cruze’s purpose-built AV, the Origin, to serve new markets.
“Watching as if 2023, next year, Things to get Really Interesting on of development side,” said Vogt. “he said. He goes to become Thousands of Av roll out went out of of General Motors plant, including of first origin. WIn the year to become using Those to the Light up a lot of More Markets And to the here you go to the generate Meaningful Income in Those Markets”
In the year Cruise is expected to generate $1 billion in annual revenue by 2025, Vogt said. The company closed the second quarter of 2022 with $25 million after launching its commercial service in San Francisco. The company’s expenses increased to $550 million, compared to $332 million in the year-ago quarter, while operating expenses more than doubled to $605 million.
The increased costs are expected to continue as the company builds vehicles and expands into new markets, but Vogt Cruise has a strategy to reduce costs as it grows. For example, the company has built robots to charge and clean AVs, and Cruz is building custom chips that reduce energy consumption and system costs.
While Vogt continues to talk about where the company’s technology needs to be to expand into new markets — even markets that Cruise hasn’t yet mapped — Cruise reported a software recall and update in 80 of its robots following a minor crash in June. Two drivers were injured.
In addition to expanding Cruise’s plans to expand its robotaxi service, Vogt also noted the possibility of producing consumer autonomous vehicles by 2025.
